English-Spanish Unabridged Dictionary

Teacher Overview

The English-Spanish Unabridged Dictionary, from Word Magic Software, is one of the most comprehensive – if not the most comprehensive – English to Spanish online-Dictionary currently available. A great language tool for students of the two languages – with detailed verb conjugations, an in-depth thesaurus and contextualising examples of language use – and a must-have for professionals, as it boasts an impressive technical lexicon.

Teacher Review

Word Magic Software brings us their, already well-established, Spanish-English Dictionary and verb library. It boast a comprehensive lexicon of everyday and specialised terms with automated voices in a range of bi-lingual accents to facilitate both written and auditory understanding. This library is supported by contextualised examples, quotations and definitions that help in choosing the most relevant meaning for what you are searching. The major positive from this app is its availability while off-line – at the expense of the speech software, images and the spell-check facility. The recent add-on of being able to favourite, classify and organise words specific to whatever tasks you may be completing make this app an ideal tool for students and professionals alike.

Can this app pass itself off as an outstanding tool for use in the classroom? Not quite yet. As a lexical and syntaxical reference point it, truly, is excellent. The comprehensive library of verb forms, alone, will serve as an invaluable reference point for all students of these languages and the contextually-placed lexicon will encourage an appreciation for all words and any nuances that lie therein. However, there is scope for this app to enter into the realm of education and the classroom in a more direct way. Word Magic Software has taken the initial steps, in this regard, by introducing a ‘flash cards’ option to the app. Users, merely, need to “star” or favourite a series of words – up to a maximum of one hundred, according to your in-app settings – and can then access these words collectively through the favourites “star” at the bottom of the screen. The flash cards can then be ‘flipped’ to reveal meanings in both languages and is further accompanied by a speech-playback option whereby the user can verify accurate pronunciation. After each card has been studied the user can ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ the card in accordance with whether he or she is confident with that particular piece of language. At the end of the flash-card series the user is given a percentage rating on how many of the cards they have ‘liked’ or ‘disliked’. Unfortunately, this is where that particular aspect of the app ends. Yet with updates being regularly pushed out, I hope it will not be too long before additional elements to complement the flash cards come to fruition. One such recommendation – so to genuinely endear this app to teachers – would be to add a review game for your flash card groupings, with the possibility of sharing your scores across social media. As a teacher, the idea of having my classes ‘sign up’ to a set of words that I have “favourited” and then compete to achieve the best score and/or time, for example, would be invaluable as an informal motivational and progress-tracking tool. Further ways to enable pupils to record their own voices and compare it to the pronunciations from the app may be another potential avenue of pursuit.

In conclusion, the Unabridged Spanish-English Dictionary boasts an impressive repertoire of words, grammar and contextual examples that will prove a huge asset for all ability of user. As a piece of software immediately and directly useable in the classroom it still has some ways to go if it hopes to step out from its role as ‘just another dictionary’. Yet, with the introduction of flash cards and, what I see as, the potential for extending this factor of the app the Unabridged Spanish-English Dictionary could, in the not too distant future, play a notable part in Modern Language’s Teaching and Learning.

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Developer Description

WORKS OFFLINE. By far, the largest English Spanish Dictionary at any price! It includes all our specialized terminology (Legal, Medical, etc.) and natural-sounding voices in a variety of bilingual accents. Featuring a detailed Verb Conjugator, translations with definitions, examples, and quotes; results are easy to review while you navigate in-depth information for each entry.

So easy to use it detects misspelled words regardless of the input language, it is ideal for students but perfect for professionals who can create a truly personalized dictionary by customizing displayed results. Internet connection needed only for voices, images and spell-check.

Unique Features:

• Conjugation of Spanish and English verbs, all persons & tenses.
• Over 1,299,000 entries, 2,284,000 translations, 3,221,000 synonyms, 814,000 antonyms, 196,000 definitions, 96,000 examples, 146,000 quotes, 66,000 images.
• Enabled Search for plurals, feminine forms and verb conjugations.
• Natural-sounding voices for entries, definitions and examples in both languages (British and American English, European and American Spanish)
• Covers International, European, Latin American and Mexican Spanish. Covers American and British English.
• Phonetic transcription following IPA standards in American and British English.
• Phonetic transcription following IPA standards for American Spanish, Caribbean Spanish, River Plate Spanish and Spanish from Spain.
• Intelligent Word List Display: identifies multiple forms of plural and feminine as well as Spanish verb conjugations, with, without or even with misplaced accent.
• Words which are spelled identically in both languages are displayed twice in the List, marked with a flag.
• Fuzzy Search: Detects misspelled words simultaneously in English and Spanish, offering close suggestions.
• Innovative “Scan Function” for conceptual search of idioms and related phrases.
• 40,000+ Phrasal Examples cross-linked to 200,000+ phrases & their translations
• Shake for random word display.
• Share via Facebook and Twitter.
• Search History.
• Mark Favorite Words easily.
• Sync your favorites among your devices with Dropbox.
• Customize using available themes, background color, and font.